Safe haven or scary place

Not a very nice week weather wise, or at least, not on the days when I was able to get the horses out. We have a new car so it got the garage space where I used to shelter and tack up the horses so I'm having to change my habits and prepare them near the woodsheds and field shelter. I had just got them ready for a hack on Thursday hoping to dodge the rain, when it poured down. So we headed for the field shelter. Not Lucie's favourite place at the best of times - she will use it in summer, for shade, and allows Fina to stand in it with her to keep the flies off her face. On a wet and windy day, Lucie  would rather stand out in the rain; well, not even stand because there are scary noises out there which need keeping and eye on. So while Fina, who I think was delighted to find she could stand in the shed unchallenged, and I sheltered from the rain, Lucie fidgeted about on the end of the rope and got wet. I treated it as an exercise, allowed her to move her feet when she needed to, not trying to make her stand still or come inside until she offered to, then allowing her to float out again when she felt insecure; she did accept to stand with us for a while.

Once the rain stopped, we had a quite a nice ride and lead, both horses happy to get out and get moving. Later we came to a fallen tree which I had to get off to move; the horses waited patiently but once again Lucie's horsenality got the better of her, she thought I was taking too long and it would be quicker if she did the job herself and only managed to get entangled in the branches...  I took this photo when I got off to move the fallen branch, and before Lucie got bored of me taking photos and broke ranks...

Just a couple of examples highlighting the different horseanalities of my two mares, and how for Seraphina, standing still is a comfort, while for Lucie it is often a trial and brings on anxiety and the need to move her feet. Being in an enclosed space is hard for her.
 

Vet routine visit

The vet came this morning for winter routine visit and jabs. The ponies behaved perfectly and stood quietly, he has a simple effective unconfrontational approach anyway. Only Fina jumped dramatically as the needle came out, I guess it offended her being woken in her day dream. Lucie has it all sussed in advance and knows the routine. Fina always manages to look mildly surprised at everything.

Good and bad news, vet thinks I should gradually try Lucie back in light work (she has been lame for about 4 years with bone spavin in one hock) and he suggests boosting her with a mineral composition for a month. The small bones in her hock are fusing nicely, which means stiff movement but less pain. She is fine on forward movement, a bit stiff to start with but once moving she trots and canters and even jumps happily. Less good is that she has a small brown melanoma developing in the corner of each eye, which I have to watch. She has always had irritated eyes even now in winter and some discharge which I wash off daily. The irritation and rubbing may have caused the melanomas to develop, and if they enlarge may interfere with vision and have to be removed Not much I can do except try to keep them clean and less irritated.

He also checked teeth and says time for a tidy up, he saw a point developing on one of Lucie's, so will get the horse dentist round to do them both.

Don't ignore the signs

The weather has turned colder and it's stopped raining, but field and consequently the horses, very muddy. I got them out of field and mud and cleaned them up a bit, really to check them over and give a good scratch because the next day they would be covered in mud again. So I just tidied them up quickly and decided to go for a hack. Very cold but nice and sunny, and quiet for a Saturday, some dogs hunting in the distance but no shots.

The day before, when I walked them up from the bottom field, not having been handled or out of the field for a week, some ground rules needed re-establishing as manners had been forgotten. This is where it all goes wrong if you don't take a moment to do things quietly and I noted the signs. Lucie trying to get ahead as we went up the path, trying to eat, trying to impose her idea (where the grass looks tasty); Fina looking away from me, both of them a bit pushy and impolite. Fair do's, I haven't done more than feed them and go back in the warm recently.

With Lucie, I have learnt that she needs quietly but firmly to be put in her place, alongside or behind me. Allowing her to get zone 2 in front gives her the idea that she is in charge or that she thinks I am not. I don't want to be pulled along, or to be constantly checking her, and have long ago stopped getting annoyed or using my voice. I simply stop and when she doesn't stop, I quietly ask her for a step back into place. I keep doing this, no more no less, until she stops resisting the feel I put on the rope, behind her chin. Walk, stop, back a step, until the stop and back happen without any touch or pressure. As the lane gets narrower, I ask Lucie to walk behind me, stopping if I stop, backing out of my space if I take a step back. I feel the horses start to connect with me again. Ignoring Lucie trying to get ahead, or fighting her, results in my quiet little mare becoming a bolshy, excited bombshell who if she thinks nobody is in charge, or sees her chance to be leading or making decisions, is liable to kick whatever is behind or near her. I learned never ever let her think I am not the leader, and only let her go ahead if I ask her or allow her to. Some horses, especially mares, are like this, it is what is most important to them, and if you tap into what makes them tick, they will trust and respect you. So it is with Lucie. Seraphina also needs to respect (my) leadership but with her it is different, less extreme, more grey areas and she is more laid back, and somewhat lazy!

Being more provocative

I have realised I need to be more provocative with Fina. I said at the start of the year that I wanted to complete the Parelli level 2 audition and we still seem to be messing about so I got the task sheet out. There is a list of things you should be able to do and certain compulsories to be shown in the video submission, it's much like an Interdressage test. It's all about improving communication and connection. The checklist has things like back your horse out to the end of the 22' rope and 2 to 4 laps circling at trot with change of direction, sending the horse to to different points using the 22', you standing still, etc. all of which we can do, kinda... but I need to get Fina doing with more enthusiasm 
and less of the "well if I must but I'm really not interested"... 

Yesterday I thought I'd up the game, see what happens. So after some circles where I let her discover that if she didn't pay attention to the speed of the trot she would slip on the wet ground, and sending her around markers at distance, I set up a squeeze where she passes round a marker and then I disengage her to stop and face me. The first time she went through the gap and stopped when she felt like it; the second time I just focused strongly on a spot on the ground behind her (where she should no longer be) as she went through the gap and that woke her up, she zoomed through and turned and stopped with head high and ears pricked... I don't want to scare her, just motivate her, and it worked, next time I got a snappy departure and her full attention on the game, and I didn't have to do anything; she offered more and with an interest in it. So this looks like the way to go and I was right, I was being boring and ineffective and she switches off. With the girls it's so easy to get this wrong and offend them; with boys it's much easier to wake up the play drive.

Then we went for a hack, the day was nice and cool but still some nasty biting flies around.

Afterwards I let them graze in the orchard while I poo-picked; the grass has been well grazed in their field now and Lucie keeps telling me I should open more field; so when she goes back in she's looking round for where I've moved the fence. I will have to get this on video, she is so cheeky! I had moved a section but she didn't see it. I was taking them towards it and tried to remove a fly from Lucie's side but she was cross with me because she thought she didn't have anything fresh to eat and took umbrage, galloping off and taking Fina with her. They did three laps of the field flat out, with some high kicks, then pulled up and came over, hot and puffing like two old ladies and I had to stick around guarding the water trough until they had cooled off enough for it to be safe to let them drink Amazingly Lucie who is lame and was resting that leg afterwards, was moving fine this morning. Silly girls. I expect i'll give in and open more grazing today.

Colic scare

Had a bit of a scare with the yellow horse; Fina refused her carrots in the bucket on Thursday evening, and after looking her over and walking her around a bit I called my friend Jennie to consult; she kindly came over, and as there was obviously something wrong, I called out the vet who arrived about 10 pm by which time it was dark. Basically it was mild colic or a blockage, she was in discomfort, although she passed two lots of poo, but had no interest in grass or eating. The vet sedated her (a little too successfully, we had a job to keep her on her feet) and tubed her, injected her, gave her paraffin, then a drip; and after listening again to her vitals, detected movement inside and finally left after midnight. Next morning Fina was okay but not herself, she had pooed, but was still not very interested in eating. It was pouring with rain and she looked cold and shell-shocked, and tired; she made only feeble efforts to move or graze; so when it wasn't improving by itself, I got them both out to look for some tasty tempting grass. While Lucie flung herself on it enthusiastically, Fina was still just picking. Eventually the reflex kicked back in but after a while she would just stand and rest. I spent the day either grazing them or resting under the shelter of the garage, and after several phone discussions with the vet, by mid-afternoon I felt she was reviving and starting to be more alert, and I could hear gut rumbles. Once she passed some poo I felt happier.

My best guess on what caused it is eating some mouldy hay which is lying at the edge of the field and didn't get baled. Why she should find this more attractive than the green grass which is now regrowing a bit I can't imagine. I caught her choosing to eat the black stuff when I was grazing her. Now I'm going to have to go and clear it all up but at least all seems well again, thank goodness! What a worry these horses give us, and I thought my two were sensible eaters, rustic ponies, out 24/7. It seems one can never be sure what they're going to get up to.

What was interesting is how introverted Fina became; it was as if she went into shock and I wonder how long it would have taken her to come out of it. She just seemed to shut down, maybe that was her way of recovering but it seemed to me she needed help to restart the vital processes of eating. We all know how it feels after a bout of gastro, when you are almost nervous to eat anything and have lost the normal desire and food reflex; well that is how it is for me. I have had rare (thank goodness!) cases of colic before with horses, but never seen this reaction.

We get some help

This week we had some coaching from a Parelli instructor Niki Hardwick, who came over to France to stay with a friend, who also does Parelli. As there were only the two of us as students, it was virtually private lessons which was brilliant. We did one day with my friend Claire's horses, then on Friday they came here. In the morning Claire played with Lucie and I played with Fina. It was the first time, apart from the RWYM clinic, that I have had been able to partner Fina under instruction.

I had several ideas of things I needed help with, in the end most of my items were resolved by improving my phases and timing and reading of the horse and getting her in a place where she started offering more. Niki asked to see my short range yields and driving, my yoyo (backing and draw towards) and circling, and sideways. Each of these Fina knows how to do, so we were not teaching, but when applying the criteria we'd discussed, you could see that she was going through the motions, not really offering or enjoying. Sometimes I needed to be more assertive, sometimes I was too critical and asking too much too soon. I need to be careful to release when she offers what I want, to recognise and reward the thought. This might not be that obvious, might be just the flicker of an ear or when she looked at me and asked a question, when she offered a flexion, etc. I found that the sideways game gave me most reward in this way which then carried over into other areas. By the end of the day we had a wonderful softness and connection, I had learned to invite her in a much softer way, my phase 1 became very subtle and as long as necessary, which Fina was obviously much happier to respond to, and she was attentive and involved and asking questions. I hope we can keep this going and I will be videoing my next sessions and hopefully have something to show and move on from there to the same level of connection at greater distances and when riding.

Using the touch-it exercise

I ordered some new flexi-buckets and decided to give Fina the new scary purple one. Of course I should have prepared properly, introduced her to it & put it inside the old one first time but by the time I thought of that, it was a long way back to the house, and who would have thought it would be such a big deal. It was quite funny how suspicious she found it even when she could smell the food, she turned away and ran off. However, as that afternoon we had been doing Touch it (sending her to put her nose on objects) I was able to send her to the bucket - just shows how useful all these ground games are! Must say they are nice buckets, wish I'd ordered more than two. Her expression says it all here - still looking slightly offended, sensitive little soul. (Photo to follow)

Another recent purchase which I haven't yet done much with is a big green ball; I got it out the other day and introduced Fina to it, also part of our Touch it games. It wasn't nearly as scary as a new bucket! She had a good lick then followed it around and we got as far as her kicking it before I realised I was going to need a flat, enclosed area until I had trained her to go fetch it from the bottom of the sloping field.